Gavin Wilkinson

Gavin Wilkinson (born 5 November 1973) is a former New Zealand footballer and current GM/President of Soccer for the Portland Timbers. Prior to this position, Wilkinson was manager of Portland Timbers in the United Soccer League before their promotion to Major League Soccer beginning with the 2011 season. As a player, he was known as a strong leader and defender.[1]

Gavin Wilkinson
Personal information
Full name Gavin Brian Wilkinson
Date of birth (1973-11-05) 5 November 1973
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Portland Timbers (Technical Director)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Waitakere City
1996–1999 Perth Glory 68 (4)
1999–2000 Instant-Dict 13 (2)
2000 Geylang United 15 (2)
2000–2001 Kilkenny City 12 (0)
2001–2006 Portland Timbers 124 (4)
National team‡
1996–2002 New Zealand 33 (1)
Teams managed
2005–2006 Portland Timbers (USL) (assistant)
2007–2010 Portland Timbers (USL)
2012 Portland Timbers (interim)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:47, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 October 2007
Wilkinson (centre) with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson (left) and player Nat Borchers in 2016

International career

He played for the New Zealand national football team, the All Whites and collected 33 caps in official FIFA internationals, scoring 1 goal.[2]

Career

Wilkinson played defence for with the USL Portland Timbers from 2001 to 2006, adding assistant coach duties in 2005 and 2006. Wilkinson retired as an active player and was named Head Coach and General Manager for Portland Timbers in September 2006. During the 2009 season, he directed the Timbers to the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion and a league record 24 game unbeaten string (14-0-10), smashing the previous record of 16.

Manager career

Wilkinson also runs EastSide Timbers FC, a youth soccer club based in Gresham, OR.[3]

On 18 January 2010, Wilkinson was named Technical Director of the expansion Portland Timbers club in Major League Soccer (MLS), set to begin play in the 2011 season. He assumed those duties while still coaching the Timbers through the 2010 season.

Wilkinson not only played for Portland Timbers, but has also played for the New Zealand National Team 40 times in various competitions including World Cup Qualifiers and the Confederations Cup, playing against countries like the United States, Germany & Brazil.

Wilkinson was the general manager of the Portland Thorns, the Timbers' sister club in the National Women's Soccer League from its inception in 2013. As a result of the 2021 fallout of the scandal surrounding allegations that Paul Riley had sexually harassed Thorns players during his tenure as the club's coach (2014 to 2015), Wilkinson, who was responsible for Riley's hire and the eventual non-retainment of Riley's services following the 2015 season, was put on administrative leave from the Thorns[4] and eventually replaced by Karina Leblanc.[5] He remains the Timbers GM, however.

Honours

Player
Perth Glory
  • Most Glorious Player Award (1x): 1996-1997

Manager
Portland Timbers

Cascadia Cup (1x): 2012

USL-1 Coach of the Year (2x): 2007, 2009

Managerial stats
Team Nat From To Record
GWLDWin %
Portland Timbers  United States 26 September 2006 10 October 2010 11850293942.37

References
  1. "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  2. "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  3. "EastSide United FC - Technical Director". ESUFC. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  4. "Thorns FC statement on general manager/President of soccer Gavin Wilkinson | PTFC".
  5. "Karina LeBlanc named Thorns FC general manager".
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